Daisy Ilola Waterhouse

According to her father, Daisy Ilola Wikoff was born “on a cold day in January” in Midvale, Idaho. January 23, 1925 to be precise. Supposedly her cradle was an old wooden fruit crate from the General Store that sat on the open hot oven door. Daisy ended her painful earthly journey on March 14, 2017 when she peacefully received her eternal reward.

Her parents were O.A. and Clarissa Ellen (Lyons) Wikoff. The couple gave birth to 13 children, 12 of which were raised to maturity, of which Daisy was the third child. She often played the role of surrogate caregiver. Family oral history states her mother loved babies until they started to walk and then she wanted another. When anyone attempted to determine the age for Daisy and her siblings, her mom was often heard to state, “just add two years to the one before”. As soon as Daisy was old enough to help her mother tend her younger siblings she became the caregiver for all the “kids born before the baby”. Daisy was often found to have the baby in her arms if her mom was busy or not looking. Daisy, only half-jokingly, loved to tell the story of her mom “making” her take younger brother, David, to her junior class play as “he cried to go with her”.

Daisy was a “sickly child”. She was small for her age and suffered several life-threatening illnesses. She survived both rheumatic fever and a bout of pneumonia. At age six, pneumonia was so severe and without antibiotics, she was thought to be near death. The illness caused her to lose all of her beautiful blonde hair. She survived the illness and lived to the ripe old age of 92 despite battling advanced Alzheimer’s Disease for the last decade.

She was preceded in death by both of her parents and sibling Ruth (Claude), Florence (Fred), Margaret (Sam), Rose, Donald (Millie), and Wesley. She is survived by her siblings Nellie (Dale), Dean, Joe (Mary Anne), June (Roger), David (Kaethe) and Sharon (Arlen). She is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces.

With such a large family, it was often the Wikoff’s against the rest of the world. Daisy attended school in Midvale where she graduated from high school in 1943. Daisy claimed to have been “valedictorian” of her graduating class until the Principal changed a grade for her classmate. Daisy claimed when this was pointed out to him, the pair served as “co-valedictorians”.

If you knew Daisy, you know she did not ever want to be wrong so she was quick to blame others.

Daisy believed her middle name was “Iola” until she was in her 80’s. With a copy of her certified birth certificate in hand for the first time, she did not miss a beat to blame “old Doc Whiteman” for the mistake. It was not easy for Daisy to say “I am sorry” so baking cookies or cinnamon rolls was her way of making things right.

After graduation, Daisy went to Astoria, Oregon, to “clean fish at the New England Fish Company (NEFCO). She was soon joined by her sister, Nellie. Daisy liked to brag she and Nellie could clean fish faster as they talked than the other workers could standing silent.

Her first “date” with Rolland “Ron” Waterhouse was after his high school graduation in June 1949. She went out with Ron after attending a party at his family’s home. Less than six months later at the age of 24, she married Ron at the parsonage of Salem, Oregon First Church of the Nazarene. The pastor at that time was future Nazarene General Superintendent Orville Jenkins. Ron’s father, Orval, performed the ceremony and Mrs. Orville Jenkins baked the wedding cake. For the next six plus decades, Ron was known to report during every heavy rain storm after that, “it hasn’t rained this hard since the day I got married”. Daisy often said this was before the advent of modern hair spray and her hair was “ruined”.

Ten months later, their daughter Margaret Lucille (Peggy Lou) was born. Three and one-half years later, Rolland James (Jim) II born by accident in Weiser, Idaho. Daisy and Ron were living in Tillamook, Oregon. They made a trip to visit her parents in Idaho and due to complications of the pregnancy were destined to remain in Weiser where Rolland James (Jim) Waterhouse II joined the family. Ron often stated it took him “four years to save enough money to get the heck out of Idaho”.

In 1958, Ron started his electrical apprenticeship in Portland. The family soon hosted several of Daisy’s siblings who moved into the couple’s small apartment in Portland. Dean, June, David, Sharon and niece, Cheryl Thornton all spent time living in the Waterhouse home. Also during this time, Daisy and Ron started taking foster children into their home.

Ron graduated from his Electrical Apprenticeship in 1962 and the family added a son, Ricky Dean, in 1963. Rick was a “true accident”, Daisy explained it numerous ways over the years but finally settled it by saying “there were several other newborns at church and I thought Ron was serious”. Ron reported he was serious.

The family moved frequently around the greater Portland Area. They lived in 18 different places between 1954 and 1972. Ron often said he was unable to understand why Daisy wanted to move but “got up every morning to see if there was moving van outside”.

Over the years, Daisy had numerous jobs including: fish packer, nurse aide, respiratory therapist, and office manager for the family electrical business, R J Water Electric in Hillsboro. With all her spunk and sass, she was lovingly referred to as the “old blister” by her kids and their friends from school.

Those who knew her best would say her greatest joy was her family. She always enjoyed a close bond with her siblings, her grandchildren, and caring for the many foster children placed in their home. She loved Southern Gospel Music and each year organized a church outing to see the “Gaither’s concert. She owned the “vinyl” from every traveling group to come through her church.

Daisy was dedicated to serving Jesus through their local church and was often called a “prayer warrior”. They attended both the Mt. Scott and Hillsboro Churches of the Nazarene. If the church doors were open, Daisy and Ron were there greeting people, arranging potlucks, ensuring needs were met, the pastor’s families were well tended and the children in Sunday School had cookies; she was often generous to a fault.

Daisy was preceded in death by her husband, Ron, son-in-law, Raymond Hulse, and grandson, Billy Ray. She is survived by her three children, Peggy of Prineville, OR, Jim (Meri) Waterhouse II of Tacoma, WA, and Rick (Donna) Waterhouse of El Dorado Springs, MO; her six grandchildren: Rolland James (Stephanie) Waterhouse III, Sara (Matthew) Chapirson, Amy (Mark) Fernandez, Blake Waterhouse and Chauntae (Jessica) Waterhouse, and 12 great grandchildren.

Daisy with all her spunk and sass, will be greatly missed by her family and all who knew her.